Little Details Make a Big Difference

“God is in the details” — Gustave Flaubert (1821-80) … or “the Devil is in the details” (a variant of the proverb). However you choose to look at it, there’s no question that little details make a big difference in your work.

The ancient Greek artisans took this so seriously that the statues they carved were complete all the way around, even though they knew their carvings would be in places where no one would ever see those details. This attention to detail is perhaps one of the reasons we marvel at their art thousands of years later.

A Photojournalistic Approach to Corporate Training Materials

I recently worked on a crew, creating training materials for a restaurant chain. We decided to approach the assignment photo journalistically rather than stage the photos. This approach showed the employees doing their jobs properly, making the images more believable than set-up shots. In addition, these pictures will train other employees and show how doing things in detail is best.

Even though we didn’t stage the shots, we still had to set the stage by cleaning up the place. We had to make sure everything looked as the company said it should look and everything was in its place.

In past training programs, the photos occasionally showed that a store didn’t always follow the company line in every detail. It may be as small as some item not being in its usual place or something not present in every location.

Insignificant but incorrect details are not little to those responsible for training employees. In the Nixon/Kennedy debate of 1960, Nixon’s sweating was the deciding factor.

In most high-investment photo shoots, stylists are to catch the small details that can distract from the message. Attention to detail is the fine distinction that separates the professional from the amateur.

Communicating Clearly, Without Distractions

I’ve told you this story before, the one about sitting by a grandmother on a flight from Dallas. She showed me a snapshot of her grandchild standing in front of a house. The child was a mere speck in the picture, but the grandmother, so intent on the child’s memory, was unaware of all the photos’ distractions. She remembers what the child looked like and saw her clearly, but only in her mind’s eye.

Musicians, poets, writers, and photographers know how important detail can be. Musicians listen as they play to keep themselves in tune. Poets search for one precise word. Writers look for the verb to carry the action. Photographers look at the subject plus scan the complete frame to eliminate details that distract or add ones that complement.

As professional communicators, we must show what we want people to see and show it clearly and without distraction.

The goal is to remove distractions that can sidetrack a trainee, or they may miss the teaching point. On the other hand, if there are too many distractions, the trainees may not be trained as they should be.

It is our job to ensure the message does not fail due to overlooked things. That’s why details make the difference.

Photographing Fireworks

4th of July Fireworks at Roswell High School Good fireworks photos have one thing in common – good foregrounds. 

The fireworks are way up in the sky, of course, but what you put between you and the fireworks can make the difference between an okay photograph and a great shot.

During the 1976 Bicentennial Celebration at New York Harbor, some photographers used the Statue of Liberty in the foreground of their fireworks pictures. In Philadelphia some photographed the fireworks in the sky over Independence Hall. These pictures truly captured the celebrations’ mood and meaning because of the chosen foregrounds. 

Composition 

The most challenging part of using a foreground is balancing the exposure between it and the fireworks themselves. Since knowing the correct or preferred exposure for the fireworks is impossible, it is impossible to know how to balance the exposure for the foreground. While this may be done “on the spot,” an assistant or two would be necessary because of the shortness of time of the fireworks show. To solve this problem, use a foreground object that will work as a silhouette.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is 2019-07-04-21-41-09-681x1024.jpg

Before the event, find out where the fireworks will be launched. Then visit the site before the show and look around. Sometimes the best location could be far away and shot with a telephoto lens.

Pick your spot carefully because there will not be time to move once the excitement begins.

It’s hard to know how high the fireworks will go before they explode or how big they will be when they do. So after the first couple of shots, check the composition. Ensure it’s not too loose and the fireworks are too small or tight that they are going outside the frame. 

Equipment and Exposure 

A sturdy tripod and a cable or remote release are needed for successful fireworks photographs.

Start with the camera on the lowest ISO (100 or less). Set the aperture at ƒ/8 or ƒ/11 and the shutter speed on the bulb (this keeps the shutter open for as long as the shutter release is held down; hence the need for a cable or remote release to avoid camera shake).

A small flashlight is an excellent addition to your equipment for the shoot.

Take a shot or two, then check the exposure. It should be close, but tweaking it slightly should make the colors pop.

4th of July Fireworks at Roswell High School

Technique

When you hear the sound of the firework being launched, open the shutter and hold it open for two or three bursts before releasing it. Blues don’t photograph as well as reds or greens, so hold the shutter open longer for a blue burst. For different effects, change the length of time the shutter is open.

Twenty or so should be excellent photos out of around one hundred shots of a typical show.


The cool thing about this – an expensive camera isn’t needed. Any camera that accepts a shutter or remote release can be set to “bulb” and has a tripod socket should work. Many of the point-and-shoot cameras will work nicely.

So check it out before the show. Find a spot with a workable foreground. Take a plethora of pictures. Isn’t digital significant – no film cost?